Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty is joining the call for more disaster relief funding for the NWT's capital city.
Alty said she was able to fly over the fire breaks around the city during an update on the situation during a press conference on Aug. 22.
“There are two parts to the return plan,” she said. “One is fire safety and two is making sure municipal services are operational.”
She said the municipality and GNWT have been working together to plan what needs to be done since Aug. 18. She then called on the territorial and federal governments to provide more support for disaster relief.
“Disaster financial assistance is certainly needed in our territory,” Alty added.
Yellowknife remains under evacuation order.
Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek noted the GNWT has a working group established to maintain communications with supply chains. She said the GNWT was looking at whether a subsidy would be needed to offset costs, but was still determining if that was necessary.
NT RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Matt Halstead said RCMP are actively doing wellness checks on residents who are still in the community.
“If they are, we are informing them of the risks and asking them to leave,” he said.
Regional superintendent of Infrastructure Jeffrey Edison said the GNWT is working to keep the Yellowknife Airport open longer to allow for more supply flights. The airport is closed to commercial flights.